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Coast FIRE Calculator — Australia

Coast FIRE is the milestone most people hit years before they realise. Once your existing investments are large enough to compound into your full FIRE number by your target retirement age, every further contribution is optional — you only need to cover your living costs.

Rules & rates
AustraliaUnited States

Australian rules, 2026-27 tax year

Your situation

All figures in today's dollars.

35
1870
60
3675
$

What you have and what you add

$
$
$
$

What you need invested today to coast

$507,579

You have $250,000 invested, so you are $257,579 short of the coast line. At your current contributions you cross it at age 48.

Full FIRE number
$1,875,000
Coast FIRE age
Age 48
Time to coast
13 years

Save this scenario. Compare plans side by side, track progress, and export the full year-by-year schedule.

See plans

Your balance against the coast line

Once the projection crosses the coast line you could stop contributing entirely and still land on your number.

  • Projected balance
  • Coast FIRE line
Projected at retirement
$2,379,487

If you keep contributing

In outside super
$1,085,557

Reachable at any age

In super
$1,293,930

Locked until 60

The coast number at every age

Read across to see how much less you would need if you pushed your retirement date back — or how much more if you brought it forward.

AgeCoast numberProjectedStatus
35$507,579$250,000Keep saving
36$534,815$292,415Keep saving
37$563,513$337,105Keep saving
38$593,750$384,194Keep saving
39$625,610$433,809Keep saving
40$659,179$486,087Keep saving
41$694,550$541,169Keep saving
42$731,818$599,208Keep saving
43$771,087$660,360Keep saving
44$812,462$724,794Keep saving
45$856,057$792,686Keep saving
46$901,992$864,220Keep saving
47$950,392$939,593Keep saving
48$1,001,388$1,019,010Coasting
49$1,055,122$1,102,688Coasting
50$1,111,738$1,190,857Coasting
51$1,171,392$1,283,757Coasting
52$1,234,247$1,381,641Coasting
53$1,300,475$1,484,778Coasting
54$1,370,257$1,593,449Coasting
55$1,443,783$1,707,951Coasting
56$1,521,254$1,828,597Coasting
57$1,602,882$1,955,717Coasting
58$1,688,890$2,089,658Coasting
59$1,779,514$2,230,786Coasting
60$1,875,000$2,379,487Coasting

How this works

Can I stop saving and still retire on time?

The formula behind it

Your coast number is your FIRE number discounted back at the real rate of return: annual spending divided by your withdrawal rate, then divided by (1 + real return) raised to the number of years left. Everything is computed in today's dollars, which is why the real return — your nominal return less inflation — is what matters.

Why it changes how work feels

Coast FIRE turns a decades-long obligation into a much smaller one: cover this year's expenses. That is what makes a lower-paid but better job, a sabbatical, or dropping to four days a week suddenly affordable, long before full financial independence arrives.

The catch this page checks for

Most coast calculators quietly assume you can reach all of your money. If you plan to retire before your preservation age, part of that balance is locked away, and clearing the coast line does not mean you can actually stop working. The bridge panel tests whether your accessible pool covers the gap years.

What it deliberately ignores

Coast FIRE answers exactly one question: when can contributions stop. It does not model tax on the way in, contribution caps, or a variable market. Use the full FIRE calculator once you want the complete picture.

Keep going

Other Australian calculators

FIRE

The full projection: earliest retirement age, the bridge years, and whether the money lasts.

Barista FIRE

Model part-time income covering part of your spending while the portfolio keeps growing.

Lean FIRE

Independence on a deliberately small budget — and an honest test of whether it survives.

Fat FIRE

A no-compromise retirement, where contribution caps and tax become the binding constraint.

Drawdown / SWR

Thousands of simulated market paths to test whether your withdrawal rate survives.